Week of 11.23.15

Below is the Class 5-306 weekly newsletter for the week of November 23th – November 25th.

Reading

Class 5-306 will continue to read Boy-Tales of Childhood, by Roald Dahl. This book is an autobiographical account of the early life of Roald Dahl. It goes hand in hand with our autobiography writing unit. In the book, Roald Dahl tells us about his experiences at school in England, summer holidays in Norway, and the pleasures of his favorite local sweetshop in Llandaff, Wales. These experiences influenced him to become a great storyteller! During this reading unit, students will continue to practice working in literature circles. The unit will culminate with a final project and a comprehensive assessment of the book.

This week, students will also read an informational article titled “Taliban Shooting victim goes back to school in England”, about Malala Yousafzai’s campaign for the education rights of Pakistani girls. The students will work in groups and engage in reciprocal teaching. The students will have the opportunity to take on the following roles: predictor, questioner, facilitator, and summarizer. This encourages collaborative learning and helps the students construct meaning in increasingly complex texts.

5th grade ELA common core Literature standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

5th grade ELA common core Informational Text standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7
Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

Writing

The second unit of writing in 5th grade is Autobiography. This unit is part of a school-wide effort to write informative pieces of writing. In constructing their autobiographies, students will learn to increase their stamina as writers, to research formally and informally, and to reflect on their own life experiences in a meaningful way. Therefore, this should be a natural transition from the personal narrative unit that was just completed.
During this unit, students will continue to use narrative techniques such as dialogue and description to develop experiences. Students will revise their writing based on teacher feedback as well as self and peer-reflection. They will also edit their writing by checking for errors in capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Finally, they will create a published piece. 5th grade ELA common core writing standards we will focus on include:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

For our third math unit, we will be focusing on Decimals. A large portion of the work we will be doing will be based on EngageNy Module 1: Place Value and Decimal Fractions. This Module is aligned with Go Math Chapters 3, 4, and 5, and I will be using materials from Go Math to enrich our daily lessons. You can find the module materials I will be working with on the following website: https://www.engageny.org/resource/grade-5-mathematics-module-1 Feel free to download the module and preview what your child will be learning in the upcoming weeks.

Our learning this week will address the following 5th grade MATH Common Core Standards:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.3.B
Compare two decimals to thousandths based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

Social Studies

Unit 1 is Land and Early Peoples. Students will investigate how geography influenced the development of the Western Hemisphere. They will also learn about what led to the rise of early civilizations in the Americas. In addition, they will be reading about and discussing European exploration in the Western Hemisphere.

Science

Our second unit is The Rock Cycle! Students will understand what a mineral is and classify minerals based on their properties. They will also identify properties of rocks and recognize different types of rocks. During this unit, students will also complete a “Mining for Minerals Lab!” Finally, they will describe the different stages of the rock cycle.

Special Announcements/Upcoming Events

1. Picture day is this Monday, November 23rd. The students will be taking their pictures at 8:30am in the auditorium. If you have not sent in the slip and fees, please send this in with your child on Monday.

2. The 5th grade trip to The Historical Richmond Town to learn about colonial America will take place on Tuesday, November 24th. Please send back the permission slip and dues for the trip by Monday, November 23rd if you have not done so already.

3. The 5th grade Cultural Feast is on Wednesday, November 25th from 10am- 12pm! If possible, please bring in a dish that represents your family’s heritage.

4. There will be no school on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 26th.

5. The date for the Senior Points incentive field trip to McCarren Park has been change. It will now take place on Monday, November 30th.

Happy Thanksgiving! Please have a restful and joyous time with your family. If you have any questions or concerns about this week’s newsletter, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Mr. Tramonte

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

5-306 Weekly Homework Assignments
There will be no new Vocabulary/Spelling Words this week. Please have your children login to spelling city and review the vocabulary words from the previous weeks. http://www.spellingcity.com/teacher5306/

Monday, November 23rd

1. Math

· Have Chapter 2 math tests signed and return test to school.

· Make corrections to test on a separate piece of paper and attach to test. Number each problem.
2. Spelling/Vocabulary- Spend 15-20 minutes on spelling city reviewing vocabulary words from previous weeks. 3. Reading-Please read for at least 30 minutes.
4. Reminder: Trip tomorrow!

Word Work Options
1. Write each word 5 times, using a different color each time.
2. Type your spelling words 10 times, using a different font each time.
3. Create a comic strip. Add captions that use all of your vocabulary words.
4. Divide all of your spelling words into syllables (ex. Excitement=ex/cite/ment)
5. Write all of your spelling words and go over the tricky parts of each word with a pen or marker. 6. Write a TV ad for a product that uses your spelling words. 7. Find each word in the dictionary. Copy a definition for each one.
8. Cut each spelling word out of a newspaper or magazine. Glue all the words on a piece of paper.
9. Write a sentence for each spelling word, but leave out the spelling words. List all the words on the page. Ask a family member to add the correct spelling word to each sentence. 10. Write a riddle for each of your spelling words
11. Write each word in a sentence. Make pictures for 3 sentences. 12. Write your spelling words. Add a rhyming word next to each one. 13. Write a story that uses 10 spelling words.
14. Scramble each spelling word. Have a family member unscramble the words and sign your paper. 15. Spell your words with alphabet pasta. Glue them onto paper. 16. Cut out paper letters for half of the words and glue onto paper.
17. Make a word search puzzle in which you hide all of your spelling words. Give it to a family member to solve and sign.
18. For a different type of word search, draw a Boggle-type game board containing your spelling words. See if a family member can find the spelling words.
19. Make two copies of your spelling words on index cards. Use the cards to play a memory or “Concentration” game with a family member.
20. Start on the first line, write just the first letter of the word. Go to the second line, write the first two letters of the word. Continue until the word is done.
21. Write a brand-new tall tale that uses all of your spelling words. Be sure to underline your vocabulary words. 22. Write a poem using your spelling words.
23. Sort your spelling words using their parts of speech.
24. Write each word forwards and backwards.
25. Write the letters of your words in ABC order. (For example, STUDY would be DSTUY.)